Forest ecosystems are increasingly affected by anthropogenic climate change and human-driven biodiversity loss, with major implications for their functioning and stability. Functional diversity, as a key component of biodiversity, provides a valuable framework for understanding how variation in plant traits influences ecosystem functions and resilience.
To explore these relationships at large scales, Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVMs) can be employed. DGVMs are process-based models that simulate vegetation dynamics and associated carbon and water fluxes in response to changing environmental conditions. Here, we use the model LPJmL-FIT, a DGVM that represents functional diversity through individual trees with varying trait combinations, allowing us to analyses how trait variation influences ecosystem functions under changing climates [1,2,3].
We present a new set of global simulation experiments in which we systematically vary functional diversity to analyse how the relationships between functional diversity and key ecosystem functions (B-EF relationships) develop across landscapes, ecoregions, and biomes. Beyond examining current spatial patterns, we assess how these B-EF relationships may shift under different climate futures. This allows us to identify regions where functional diversity contributes most strongly to carbon and water-related ecosystem functions today, and where these contributions may strengthen or decline as climate changes.
This work highlights the broad scale benefits of forest biodiversity under climate change. It provides new insights into the role of forest functional diversity in maintaining ecosystem functioning and regulating the Earth’s carbon and water cycles.
[1] Sakschewski, B., Von Bloh, W., Boit, A., Poorter, L., Peña-Claros, M., Heinke, J., ... & Thonicke, K. (2016). Resilience of Amazon forests emerges from plant trait diversity. Nature climate change, 6(11), 1032-1036.
[2] Billing, M., Thonicke, K., Sakschewski, B., von Bloh, W., & Walz, A. (2022). Future tree survival in European forests depends on understorey tree diversity. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 20750.
[3] Billing, M., Sakschewski, B., von Bloh, W., Vogel, J., & Thonicke, K. (2024). ‘How to adapt forests?’—Exploring the role of leaf trait diversity for long-term forest biomass under new climate normals. Global Change Biology, 30, e17258. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17258
How to cite: Billing, M., Bereswill, S., von Bloh, W., Priesner, J., Sakschewski, B., and Thonicke, K.: The role of functional diversity in driving global forest functioning, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-290, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-290, 2026.
Biomes are fundamental units of global vegetation, representing physiognomically distinct plant formations that reflect collective adaptations to environmntal conditions. They provide a crucial framework for biodiversity monitoring and for identifying regions that are most vulnerable to biodiversity loss from land use change and climate shifts. As climate continues to change, the adaptative boundaries of vegetation types are being reshaped, leading to large-scale biome transitions. By defiinition, biomes are inherently shaped by both cliamte and functional traits, since traits directly reflect adaptation strategies. Dominant species within each biome often show convergent trait expressions or physiological structures. However, previous biome classifications have several limitations: 1) simple climate-based schemes that assign biomes without considering plant traits; 2) physiognomic criteria that indirectly reflect cliamte yet lacks explicit trait-climate links; or 3) trait-based classifications without integration of climate drivers. To overcome these limitations, we propose a novel framework that explicitly integrates climate variables and plant functional traits to define state-of-art biome classifications at the globe. Our framework incorporates dominant and co-occurring plant functional types and their corresponding key functional traits, linking them to climatic boundaries related to temperature, humidity and seasonality. The traits considered include leaf characteristics, stem structure, photosynthetic pathways and canopy variables. Using this framework, we identified approximately 20 biome types worldwide, spanning five thermal bands, from tropical to tundra, and four distinct humidity states, from humid rainforests to desert and semi-deserts. Leveraging species distribution models that link species occurrence to both functional traits and climate, we mapped the spatial distribution of these biomes across continents. For the first time, this framework provides a biome definition that unifies distinct vegetation forms, functional traits and their climatic context. It establishes a benchmark for understanding global biome dynamics and constructs a foundation for future studies on vegetation shifts and ecosystem functioning under ongoing climate change.
How to cite: Ma, H., Brun, P., and Zimmermann, N.: Towards a Trait-Climate Coupled Biome Framework, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-54, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-54, 2026.
While the negative effects of landscape fragmentation on biodiversity are well documented, recent evidence shows that positive or neutral effects may also be common. Understanding the mechanisms underlying these contrasting outcomes requires evaluating how species traits mediate their responses to landscape and patch characteristics. Here, we show that three key elements can improve predictions of fragmentation effects on biodiversity across scales: (1) the trait distribution of the regional species pool; (2) the relationship between taxonomic and trait diversity; and (3) the influence of the landscape matrix on the distribution of species traits. To demonstrate how these hypotheses can be tested at multiple spatial scales, we present a fully reproducible framework that integrates survey data from global datasets, remote‐sensing products, and analytical tools. As a proof of concept, we analyzed 120 fragmented landscapes in forest ecoregions spanning several biomes. We focused on forest‐dependent plant and bird species using survey data from 410 plots and species lists extracted from eBird and sPlot. Our results show that variation in the trait diversity of regional species pools across regions and ecosystems explains both the direction and magnitude of fragmentation effects on functional and taxonomic diversity. Notably, the relationship between taxonomic and functional diversity determines whether different facets of biodiversity show convergent or divergent responses to fragmentation. When functional diversity saturates rapidly with increasing taxonomic diversity, species assemblages show a narrow range of responses to fragmentation. In these cases, few species are able to colonize small patches or exploit resources in the landscape matrix, resulting in assemblages with low species richness and reduced trait diversity. Depending on the spatial scale and the region considered, fragmentation effects can be positive, neutral, or negative for species with different traits related to dispersal, life history, and resource acquisition. The implementation of our framework will support the development of generalizable hypotheses about the consequences of fragmentation across diverse taxonomic groups and regions, with broad implications for ecology and conservation.
How to cite: Suarez Castro, A. F., Hajian-Forooshan, Z., Barajas Barbosa, M. P., Damasceno, G., Grenié, M., Neate-Clegg, M., Ocampo-Peñuela, N., Oh, R., Carvajal-Quintero, J., Prado-Monteiro, B., Chethana, N., Huth, A., and Chase, J.: Trait-explicit approaches cast new light of fragmentation effects on biodiversity , World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-819, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-819, 2026.
Tropical Dry Forests (TDF) remain among the most threatened ecosystems globally, yet much of what we know about biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships still comes from studies in other ecosystem types. In Colombia, land-use change has transformed extensive areas of potential TDF into pasturelands, croplands, and plantations, raising concerns about how these shifts may alter the functional basis of ecological processes. As countries report progress toward the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF), there is an increasing need for indicators that capture not only forest loss but also the functional implications of biodiversity change. Importantly, aggregated national indicators risk overlooking regional dynamics that structure ecosystem functioning.
To address this gap, we used habitat outputs from the Species Habitat Index, a complementary indicator of the framework, to assess changes in the spatial distribution of plant traits for 282 TDF species. We compiled eight hydraulic traits measured for 98 0.1-ha plots spanning successional gradients across the Colombian TDF, and two dispersal traits compiled from the literature and complemented with information from the TRY database. By integrating species-level traits with habitat proxies, we quantified functional diversity, functional rarity (uniqueness and restrictedness), and community-weighted means under 2020 habitat conditions and evaluated how habitat change between 2000 and 2020 reshaped trait distributions.
In line with historical and a previous analysis of Colombia’s TDF species’ habitat, the natural regions within this ecosystem displayed distinct patterns, shaped by their differing disturbance histories and land-use pressures. The Norandean and Orinoco regions both experienced habitat loss over the 20-year period and showed the highest levels of functional rarity, indicating potential vulnerability of unique hydraulic and dispersal strategies to further habitat contraction. Conversely, the Caribbean region, despite having the largest remaining habitat area, did not exhibit correspondingly high functional diversity.
Our approach demonstrates how spatially explicit trait-habitat integration, enabled through the measurement of a KM-GBF indicator, can reveal region-specific functional vulnerabilities that remain invisible to national-scale reporting. By linking habitat change to shifts in the functional architecture of TDF communities, we can potentially identify where disruptions to trait-mediated ecosystem processes are likely to occur, and where the potential consequences for ecosystem functioning may be greatest.
How to cite: Arce-Plata, M. I., Poisot, T., Salgado-Negret, B., Rodríguez-Buriticá, S., Burbano-Girón, J., Salinas Vargas, V., Muñoz, M., González-Martínez, R., Garzón Ramos, F., and Norden, N.: Linking habitat change to functional vulnerability in tropical dry forests of Colombia, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-905, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-905, 2026.
Freshwater lakes host complex, vertically structured microbial communities whose functional traits and interactions underpin key biogeochemical cycles. However, we still lack a temporal, genome-resolved view of how these traits, particularly those involved in host-dependent relationships, respond to long-term environmental change. Here we present the Long-Term Monitoring–Lake Zurich (LTM-LZ), a 10-year, time- and depth-resolved dataset from a temperate, seasonally stratified lake experiencing ongoing disruption of its regular seasonal turnover. LTM-LZ couples biweekly depth-resolved metagenomic sampling with high-resolution climatic and physicochemical measurements, offering an exceptionally detailed perspective on freshwater microbial community and trait dynamics in time and space.
Based on these data, we reconstructed a catalogue comprising over 72,000 freshwater bacterial and archaeal metagenome-assembled genomes and compiled trait matrices describing carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur cycling, redox and resource-use strategies, host association potential, and other genomic properties. Within the vast diversity of lineages, we focused on the Candidate Phylum Radiation (CPR, also known as Patescibacteria), an uncultured yet widespread group in freshwaters that can contribute 15% or more of bacterial diversity and is characterized by extremely reduced genomes, host-associated lifestyles, and limited but specialized metabolic capacities. We then framed CPR lineages and their putative hosts within a joint trait–environment space, using co-occurrence patterns, phylogenetic relatedness, and metabolic complementarity to infer candidate symbioses and ecological niche partitioning along depth, redox, and seasonal gradients in the lake. This trait-resolved framework revealed how CPR–host assemblages reorganize in response to climate-driven shallowing of lake mixing depth and identified repeated interaction modules that link epilimnetic primary production to hypolimnetic nutrient transformations in Lake Zurich.
By integrating decade-scale climate change records, high-resolution environmental measurements, and genome-encoded traits, LTM-LZ turns a single lake into a model system for tracking genomic trends and ecological shifts in microbial populations and communities. Taken together, this approach reorients the field from describing community composition to predicting genome-resolved responses to ongoing environmental change, enabling trait-based analyses of bacterial interactions and the emergence of host-associated networks.
How to cite: Shakurova, A., Posch, T., Andrei, A.-S., and Pernthaler, J.: Decadal lake genome-resolved metagenomics reveals trait-structured microbial responses to climate change, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-597, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-597, 2026.
Estuaries serve a critical ecological role bridging between ocean and land environments. The Sacramento-San Joaquin River delta in California, the largest on the west coast of the Americas, is a unique inverted freshwater tidal delta of 2,990 km2 that drains into San Francisco Bay. It has undergone extensive hydrological modification with ~1800 km of levees. One of the most invaded estuaries in the world, it is also a biodiversity hotspot, supporting 750 plant and wildlife species. Invasive aquatic macrophytes have significantly impacted endangered pelagic fish and native plant species, water temperatures and flow rates, sediment deposition and water clarity in this ecosystem. The system is highly dynamic; canopy cover by invasive macrophytes, composition and dominance vary significantly on an annual timescale with weather, hydrology, nutrient inputs, and management actions.
Since 2004, we have acquired annual high spatial resolution (1-5m) airborne imaging spectrometer (IS): AVIRIS, AVIRIS-ng, AVIRIS-3, HyMap, SpecTIR, with a gap (2009-2012) filled by commercial satellite data. Supporting datasets include annual vegetation species surveys, weather, hydrology, water quality, and herbicide application data. Using IS data we have developed species and guild class maps, demonstrated high rates of turnover, changing successional pathways, and system functionality over this 21-year record. Invasive and native macrophytes are functionally different at metabolic, physiological, morphological levels that can be distinguished by spectrally significant differences, which change in association with changing environmental characteristics. Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), accounts for 40-60% of annual new growth, with about 50% surviving over winter. Early in the study, Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth) was the dominant floating invasive species (FAV), but in 2014, it began being replaced by Ludwigia spp. (water primrose) that has also invaded the emergent tule marsh, growing over and killing it, causing about half of all marsh erosion. Finally, we also show that the 3-dimensional structure of communities within the water column and distance to shore leads to competitive interactions between SAV and FAV. The maps and research emerging from this extended monitoring project have expanded understanding of ecosystem functionality and directly informed management actions and policy, and restoration recommendations.
How to cite: Ustin, S. L., Hestir, E. L., Santos, M. J., Khanna, S., Morrison, B., and Lay, M.: Assessing ecological change with 20+ years of high spatial resolution airborne imaging spectroscopy data in a highly invaded/modified inland delta, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-585, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-585, 2026.
Traditional biodiversity–stability theory has long relied on static trait descriptors, such as the mean and variance of species’ thermal optima, to predict ecosystem stability. However, these trait moments often fail to capture the dynamic and nonlinear ways in which species respond to environmental fluctuations. This study proposes a paradigm shift: moving from trait-based summaries to community performance curves (CPCs) as mechanistic predictors of ecological stability.
Performance curves describe how intrinsic growth rates vary across environmental gradients, integrating multiple traits into a single function. By aggregating these curves across species, CPCs quantify the community’s collective response to environmental change. The variability of CPCs, measured via their coefficient of variation, emerges as a powerful predictor of community stability, outperforming traditional trait metrics even under strong interspecific interactions.
This framework introduces the concept of performance curves as “meta-traits”: emergent organismal characteristics formed from coordinated traits that jointly shape ecological performance. Unlike trait moments, CPCs retain information about curve breadth, asymmetry, and overlap, key features that determine compensatory dynamics and response diversity. Communities with broad and complementary performance curves exhibit greater stability, while those with narrow, overlapping curves are more vulnerable to environmental variability.
Using multispecies Lotka–Volterra simulations and simulated temperature fluctuations, we show that the community performance curve explains between 90% to 70% of variation in community stability, outperforming trait-based metrics and maintaining high predictive power even as interspecific interaction strength increases. An empirical test with ciliate microcosms corroborated these findings: greater variability in the community performance curve was associated with greater variability of total community biomass variability, whereas, trait moments were weaker predictors. Moreover, informed CPCs, those weighted by the actual frequency of environmental states, further improve predictive power, highlighting the importance of environmental autocorrelation and Jensen’s inequality.
In sum, this work reframes biodiversity–stability theory around community-level performance, offering a more mechanistic, predictive, and ecologically grounded approach to understanding how ecosystems respond to environmental change.
How to cite: Francesco, P., Hämmig, T., Ghosh, S., and Petchey, O.: Community Performance Curves predict ecosystem stability despite interactions, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-138, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-138, 2026.
Climate models project increasing frequency and intensity of droughts in the Mediterranean Basin, escalating the threat to ecosystems. The lack of water may result in plant wilting and cavitation, reduced resistance to disease and pests, and stronger competition between species, among many other ecological processes that might be affected. Water-limited ecosystems, like those in the Mediterranean Basin, although adapted to water scarcity, may be particularly vulnerable to extreme droughts. Understanding such dynamics across different ecosystems of the region is crucial, as it is both a biodiversity and climate change hotspot.
We examined the impact of drought regimes on the resilience of Mediterranean ecosystems, expecting to detect a nonlinear relationship between drought regimes and resilience components as successive drought events cumulate in stronger impacts on ecosystems. We employed an event-based approach to drought regime analysis, in which we measured duration, intensity, severity, and time since the last event as drought attributes. We analyzed the resilience of vegetation to droughts by extracting the temporal components of resistance and recovery. Droughts are detected using the Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI-12), estimated from CHELSA database products, and vegetation response is evaluated using the kernel Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (kNDVI) from the MODIS multispectral sensor as a proxy for vegetation productivity and functioning. We examined the 2001–2018 time series for several ecoregions in the Mediterranean Basin to detect the functional shape of the vegetation response curve for this region.
Our preliminary results suggest that resilience components and drought regimes characterize different aspects of ecosystem response to water stress. Arid areas featuring shrubland ecosystem types emerged as the most resilient under varying drought severity, and the resistance component across different ecosystem types presented a stronger relationship with drought duration than with intensity. Furthermore, the distribution of resilience components as a function of drought regimes exhibits multimodal patterns, thereby supporting the hypothesis of a nonlinear relationship. This suggests that the drought response modeling approach used is challenging but promising.
How to cite: Torrassa, M., Baudena, M., Santos, M. J., and Cremonese, E.: Impacts of different drought regimes on ecosystem resilience components in the Mediterranean Basin, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-887, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-887, 2026.
Understanding how plant functional traits vary within and among species is central to predicting ecosystem responses to climate change. Functional diversity arises from the variation of traits within and among species, influencing productivity, stability, and ecosystem functioning. While aboveground traits have been extensively characterized, fine-root traits and their intraspecific variability (ITV) remain less explored, particularly in response to environmental stress such as drought. Because traits jointly determine plant performance and community dynamics, assessing how drought affects both the magnitude of trait variation and the structure of functional space is key to understanding plant strategies to withstand water limitation.
Here, we combined analyses of above- and belowground traits across 52 European herbaceous species grown under drought and control conditions to examine how drought alters the partitioning of trait variation and the occupation of functional space. Using linear mixed models, PERMANOVA, and trait probability density functions, we decomposed variance across hierarchical levels and mapped ITV and drought resistance in functional space.
We show that, although among-species differences explain most of the total trait variance, fine-root traits display markedly higher ITV (up to 50%) than analogous leaf traits. Drought did not change the relative contribution of ITV but led to a reduction in overall functional space occupancy, indicating convergence of species toward similar trait combinations. Species investing more in dense root tissues and maintaining smaller size were both more resistant to drought and more variable within species, highlighting the role of ITV in drought resistance.
These findings reveal that drought acts as a strong trait filter leading to functional convergence among species, while substantial intraspecific flexibility—particularly in root traits—supports species persistence and helps maintain community resilience and ecosystem functioning under increasing water deficits. This work underscores the importance of incorporating ITV into biodiversity monitoring and modeling to better anticipate shifts in ecosystem functioning in a changing climate.
How to cite: Rodriguez Alarcon, S., Perez Carmona, C., and Tamme, R.: Root flexibility and functional convergence: how drought reshapes plant trait space , World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-65, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-65, 2026.
Extreme weather events, such as the 2018 drought in Central Europe, present significant challenges to forest ecosystems and may drive genetic adaptation in tree populations. Preserving genetic diversity is essential for forest resilience under climate change. This study investigates whether young European beech trees (Fagus sylvatica) germinating after the 2018 drought show genetic differences compared to adult cohorts, potentially reflecting adaptation to drought conditions. We sampled 400 individuals (20 seedlings and their presumed mother trees per site) across ten locations in the Basel (Riehen, Birsfelden, Rünenberg, Hölstein, Bonfol JU) and Zurich (Rafz, Hinwil, Zugerberg, Wangen SZ, Wangen) regions, representing a drought gradient (from dry to moist). Bud tissue was collected in February 2024, and whole-genome sequencing was performed on extracted DNA, yielding 2,476,201 SNPs across 362 samples.
Population genetic analyses revealed that genetic differentiation was primarily driven by site (population) rather than life stage (juvenile or adult trees). We tested whether the site, stage or the interaction could explain the genetic structure using multivariate ANOVA. While the site was clearly significant, there was no significant overall genetic differentiation by stage or the interaction of site and stage.
Genetic variation within sub-populations differed significantly among sites (P = 0.012) but was largely maintained across generations, with only one site (Birsfelden) showing higher variation in juveniles. Variation correlated negatively with foliar potassium and long-term precipitation in juveniles, suggesting potential environmental influences.
Genome-wide association studies identified SNPs linked to phenotypes such as juvenile height, adult growth rate, and crown thinning, mapping to 35–148 genes. However, functional enrichment was limited, and it remains unknown by which mechanisms these genes might play a role.
Overall, our findings indicate that genetic differentiation among beech populations is primarily driven by geography rather than recent drought events, and that genetic variation within sites has remained stable across generations. While we observed site-specific differences and phenotype-associated loci, evidence for rapid genetic shifts following drought was weak.
How to cite: Guerra, T., Coq--Etchegaray, D., Schmid, M. W., Li, C., van Moorsel, S., and Schuman, M. C.: Developing approaches to test for the genetic selection of young beech trees (Fagus sylvatica) subject to increasingly extreme environments, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-383, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-383, 2026.
European common beech (Fagus sylvatica) is a dominant broadleaf tree forming European temperate forests. Currently, European tree populations face an increasing frequency of extreme drought events. Understanding how today’s forest trees respond to successive stress events is essential for predicting their future under current climate conditions.
We sampled leaves of 276 trees within a single stand in Switzerland along with their geolocations. Using whole-genome sequencing, we identified genetic intraspecific variation and using airborne imaging spectroscopy data collected over multiple years during peak greenness, we quantified the response of the studied temperate forest stand to documented drought events in Switzerland by measuring changes in a spectral index of canopy water content (NDWI). To derive the spectral index at the individual tree level, we combined airborne, geolocation, and drone lidar data to extract median values for each defined tree canopy. We then examined the link between intraspecific genetic variation within a single forest stand and remotely sensed intraspecific trait variation. To do this, a genome-wide association study was performed, integrating genetic variation from the 276 individuals with remotely sensed reflectance data of the tree canopy.
This study addressed various challenges, including defining tree crowns using airborne and drone lidar data and applying different models for genome-wide association studies that account for genetic structure, terrain, and topographical covariates. Our objectives were to 1) establish the overall genetic contribution to variations in remotely assessed drought responses and 2) identify genetic differences associated with specific drought responses within beech tree stands. We present our findings and discuss the challenges of estimating the genetic component of remotely sensed canopy trait variation using genome-wide association studies in natural beech populations. By linking remote sensing with forest genomics, this study aims to highlight challenges and potential outputs for long-term monitoring of the genetic basis of drought response across the temporal and spatial scales of forest species.
How to cite: Coq--Etchegaray, D., S. Helfenstein, I., de La Harpe, M., Moradi, A., Morsdorf, F., J. van Moorsel, S., and C. Schuman, M.: Assessing the genetic basis of remotely evaluated drought response in a beech (Fagus sylvatica) population, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-392, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-392, 2026.
Imaging spectroscopy (IS) enables characterization of foliar functional traits across Earth’s biomes. Foliar functional traits are widely used to estimate functional diversity, which can be a proxy for many dimensions of biodiversity. Here we integrate data from three airborne imaging spectroscopy campaigns spanning the
Imaging spectroscopy (IS) enables characterization of foliar functional traits across Earth’s biomes. Foliar functional traits are widely used to estimate functional diversity, which can be a proxy for many dimensions of biodiversity. Here we integrate data from three airborne imaging spectroscopy campaigns spanning the Arctic to subtropical biomes to test whether functional richness derived from imaging spectroscopy confers stability in seasonal variation in GPP derived from eddy covariance flux towers, controlling for phenology and weather. Data include NASA’s ABoVE campaign in the Arctic-Boreal zone, NEON covering the biomes of North America, and an intensive study in the northern temperate forests of Wisconsin, USA (CHEESEHEAD). We aligned the imaging spectroscopy data with GPP estimates from 90 flux towers, and estimated stability as a metric of GPP variation detrended for phenological effects. We find a significant relationship between functional richness and GPP stability, with towers in more functionally diverse landscapes exhibiting greater seasonal stability in GPP. Relationships between functional richness and GPP vary by biome type, and the strengths of the relationships depend on the functional traits used to compute functional richness. With a suite of over 25 traits including nitrogen, leaf mass per area, nonstructural carbohydrates, lignin, phenolics and others, this points to the importance of initial analyses to identify the key traits describing vegetation in a region. These analyses provide conditional support for a positive relationship between ecosystem stability and functional diversity. More broadly, our results point to the promise of global trait estimations from satellite imaging spectroscopy to provide new insights into the drivers of diversity-productivity relationships.
How to cite: Townsend, P., Yang, R., Kovach, K., Desai, A., Blakely, B., Zheng, T., and Pavlick, R.: Functional diversity from airborne imaging spectroscopy explains stability in GPP from flux towers, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-933, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-933, 2026.
Plant ecological strategies fundamentally rely on the coordinated investment between photosynthetic and structural organs. Yet, the petiole—a pivotal connector mediating mechanical support, hydraulic transport, and light interception—has long been marginalized in trait-based ecological frameworks. Despite its small size, the petiole determines how leaves are positioned in space, how efficiently water and carbon are exchanged, and how mechanical stresses are distributed across the canopy. Neglecting this structure limits our understanding of how plants integrate form and function to adapt to environmental variability.
To address this gap, we compiled global and regional datasets encompassing more than hundreds of woody angiosperm species and a comprehensive suite of petiole and lamina traits. Combining multivariate trait analyses, scaling theory, and environmental modeling, we examined how the coordination between petiole and lamina traits reflects adaptive trade-offs across climatic gradients. Along a 4,000-km latitudinal transect in China, we show that petiole traits define a distinct two-dimensional functional space structured by orthogonal axes of mechanical support and hydraulic efficiency. This functional space operates largely independently from the classical leaf economics spectrum, thereby expanding the current conceptual framework of plant functional diversity.
We further found that the strength of allometric scaling between lamina and petiole traits declines toward higher latitudes, indicating reduced structural coupling under low-energy conditions. In contrast, associations between petiole traits and leaf geometric attributes—such as centroid ratio and length-to-width ratio—reveal new dimensions of functional integration linking leaf form to biomechanical stability and resource-use efficiency. These patterns highlight the central role of the petiole as both a mechanical and hydraulic mediator in the evolution of plant form.
Collectively, our results demonstrate that petiole traits are not passive extensions of the lamina but key regulators of aboveground function and adaptation. Integrating the lamina–petiole complex into trait-based frameworks provides a more holistic understanding of how plants balance mechanical safety, hydraulic efficiency, and light capture across environmental gradients, refining predictions of vegetation responses to global environmental change.
How to cite: Liu, Z. and Jin, G.: Petiole–lamina coordination reveals adaptive trade-offs across environmental gradients, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-81, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-81, 2026.
In the era of global environmental and biodiversity changes, understanding the ecological consequences of biodiversity loss has become a central task in ecology. Forest ecosystems harbor over half of terrestrial plant diversity and play a pivotal role in global carbon cycle. Accumulating evidences from observational and experimental data have demonstrated generally positive effects of tree diversity on key forest functions (e.g., productivity). These positive diversity-function relationships were often explained by niche complementarity among tree species, namely that coexisting species with distinct functional traits can exploit resources (e.g., light, nutrient) in complementary ways, enhancing the overall efficiency of forest biomass production. That said, mechanistic understanding on how trait variation mediates tree species coexistence and complementary resource exploitation is still lacking.
Vegetation demographic models explicitly simulate the growth, mortality, and reproduction of trees by taking into account realistic plant traits and physiological parameters, which provide a promising platform to understand the mechanisms underlying tree diversity-function relationships. Using a stand-alone BiomeE model, we simulate tree species with different functional traits (involving empirically established trade-offs) and determine the conditions under which tree species can coexist in long terms. Then we explore whether tree diversity contributes to higher ecosystem functions and how trait variations modulate the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationship. Our current results reveals that leaf trait covariations can promote species existence under light and nitrogen competition, by (i) introducing trade-offs in species’ minimum light and nitrogen requirements; (ii) modulating monoculture resource environment through litter-mediated plant–soil feedback. Notably, despite the complexity of this model, the competition outcomes can be accurately predicted by R* theory. Meanwhile, we found that species coexistence can lead to higher ecosystem productivity, due to both complementary resource use among species and competition advantage of more productive species. Overall, our work demonstrates that plant functional traits can offer key insights into the ecological mechanisms underlying the maintenance of biodiversity and their consequences for ecosystem functioning. We also show how vegetation demographic models can serve as a new powerful tool to link empirical trait observations to classic community theory, and to help us better understand observed biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships.
How to cite: Yang, Q., Wang, S., and Weng, E.: Functional Trait Variation Promotes Tree Species Coexistence and Ecosystem Functioning: Insights from A Vegetation Demographic Model, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-178, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-178, 2026.
Understanding the drivers of bee beta diversity across pristine environments in the Amazon is critical for ensuring biodiversity conservation, restoration, sustainable land use planning and economic development. Here, we aim to reveal the patterns of among-site variation in bee communities between pristine open habitats and pristine forest formations in the Amazon using standardized bee surveys across sites and trait-based analyses (body size, sociality, nesting, buzz pollination and color). We quantified dissimilarity patterns and evaluated environmental filtering effects to test (1) whether functional diversity can better predict bee beta diversity than taxonomic diversity can; (2) whether open habitats are less diverse; (3) whether a subset of forest formations occurs; and (4) whether environmental filtering determines the predominant bee traits for each environment. Our results revealed high overall beta diversity across all pristine environments, which was driven primarily by species and functional trait turnover. Compared with taxonomic metrics, functional beta diversity better captured among-site variation, highlighting distinct ecological filtering between habitats to select different sets of traits. A portion of open habitat communities was functionally nested within forest assemblages, suggesting that forests may serve as species reservoirs for open habitats. Forests supported a richer taxonomic and functional bee assemblage, while open habitat communities exhibited specialized traits, including solitary behavior, exposed nesting, dark coloration, and buzz pollination. These findings highlight the importance of landscape heterogeneity and trait-based approaches, which should be incorporated into environmental management, restoration, and biodiversity offsetting plans. From a conservation perspective, our results stress the need to maintain open habitat patches (regardless of their size), which must remain embedded within a forest matrix. With respect to restoration, we show that the restoration of open habitats should consider the recovery of adjacent forest habitats to support ecological functionality. Integrated efforts are needed to recognize landscape heterogeneity as a fundamental component of ecological resilience in the Amazon. The incorporation of functional beta diversity into conservation and restoration planning increases the maintenance in the provision of ecosystem services and environmental resilience in Amazonian landscapes.
How to cite: Borges, R., Cunha, E., Maia, U., Tyski, L., Santos Júnior, J., Gastauer, M., and Giannini, T.: Bee community assembly is regulated by functional traits in pristine tropical forest environments, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-414, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-414, 2026.
Alpine ecosystems are globally relevant carbon (C) reservoirs, with grassland soils containing substantial amounts of soil organic carbon (SOC). Ongoing warming and declining snow cover are promoting shifts in plant community composition, greater biomass production, and upward expansion of vegetation into open and rocky areas. These changes are expected to particularly affect SOC dynamics at high elevations, where vegetation is patchy, and soils currently hold very little C. To investigate how environmental gradients and plant functional traits relate to SOC storage, we conducted over 160 coupled vegetation and soil surveys between 2,000–3,000 m a.s.l. on different geologies throughout the Swiss Alps. We applied a structural equation modelling (SEM) framework to assess how topo-climatic and soil conditions directly affect SOC, and how plant traits mediate these effects. We expected community-weighted plant traits to account for a substantial proportion of SOC variability because vegetation composition strongly reflects local microclimate and controls the type and quantity of organic matter entering the soil. We further hypothesized that topo-climatic factors influence SOC primarily through functional vegetation composition. We found that SOC is best predicted by vegetation cover, plant height, specific leaf area (SLA), and the proportion of graminoid species, all of which were positively associated with SOC. As expected, the effect of temperature on SOC is primarily indirect, operating through its influence on plant functional composition, whereas soil pH exerts a direct negative effect on SOC. Together, these factors explained a large share of the total variation in alpine SOC stocks. Furthermore, SLA and size-related traits co-varied with total soil N stocks, suggesting potential positive feedback, where nutrient enrichment and acquisitive strategies promote greater biomass inputs and further facilitate SOC accrual. By disentangling these factors, we show how plant functional traits and diversity contribute to SOC accumulation in mountain ecosystems and how alpine greening may affect future C storage above the current vegetation line.
How to cite: Zehnder, M., Udke, A., Hagedorn, F., Hille Ris Lambers, J., and Rixen, C.: Trait–environment interactions explain variability in alpine soil organic carbon , World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-919, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-919, 2026.
Human land use increasingly simplifies vegetation, replacing diverse communities with species-poor stands and monocultures. This raises a key question for the global carbon cycle: how does the loss of plant and litter diversity alter both the rate and the stoichiometry of litter decomposition? Here we use the world’s largest biodiversity–ecosystem functioning experiment to link aboveground plant diversity, litter diversity (both traits and species), and the fate of carbon and nitrogen during decomposition. We partitioned litter-diversity effects on mass loss into complementarity and dominance components, further decomposing changes in element mass into weight and concentration effects and contrasting initially high- vs low-N species. Mixed-species litter showed clear positive diversity effects on mass loss, decomposing faster than monocultures across a wide range of vegetation conditions. The additive partitioning revealed that these gains were driven primarily by complementarity among litter species rather than dominance by the fastest-decomposing species, highlighting the importance of functional differences among species. Despite faster mass loss, mixtures retained more carbon, and especially more nitrogen, than expected from monoculture relationships between mass loss and element loss. This “extra” retention arose because microbes immobilized nitrogen onto initially N-poor litter, generating opposite deviations in N retention among partner species and producing relatively recalcitrant, N-enriched residues. Concentration effects, rather than changes in litter mass alone, explained much of the net diversity effect on N retention, indicating that litter functional diversity reshapes stoichiometric trajectories during decay and partially decouples carbon and nitrogen fluxes. Our results show how litter diversity and trait differences among species jointly accelerate decomposition while constraining carbon losses via stoichiometric controls. Incorporating such diversity-dependent controls on both decomposition rates and element retention into Earth system models could improve predictions of soil carbon persistence under ongoing vegetation homogenization.
How to cite: Mori, A. S.: Functional litter diversity accelerates decomposition: underlying patterns and processes, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-673, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-673, 2026.
Plant traits - morphological, anatomical, biochemical, physiological, or phenological characteristics measurable at the individual level (Violle et al., 2007) - connect species richness with ecosystem functional diversity. Focusing on traits and trait syndromes offers a promising foundation for a more quantitative and predictive approach to biodiversity, ecology, and global change science. Although plant traits have been compiled for many years, a comprehensive database has been absent. In 2007, the IGBP and DIVERSITAS initiative ‘Refining Plant Functional Classifications’ asked the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry to develop a global plant trait database supporting biodiversity research, functional biogeography, and vegetation modelling. This initiative was named TRY. With contributions from several original datasets and the most extensive integrated datasets available at the time, the TRY Database rapidly achieved unprecedented data coverage. Since 2015, dataset owners have been able to make datasets in TRY public, and since 2019, data in TRY are freely available by default under a CC-BY license. Since then, the database has received approximately 40,000 requests - about 20 daily. In summary, TRY has become a central hub for plant trait data.
In the context of TRY, trait data are curated to some degree: taxonomy and trait names are consolidated; for continuous traits with more than 1,000 records, units are standardized, major errors are corrected, and flags for outliers and duplicates are added. Data are provided in a versioned format. The current version, TRY vs. 6.0, was released in 2022. It is based on 707 datasets and contains 15.4 million trait records for 2,675 traits and 306,000 taxa - mostly species.
The upcoming version, TRY vs 7.0, is expected to be released in spring or summer 2026. It will be based on 907 datasets and include approximately 23.4 million trait records across 3,317 traits. The presentation will focus on the upcoming version, providing details on the new coverage and outlining plans to further develop the TRY Database.
Reference:
Violle, C., Navas, M. L., Vile, D., Kazakou, E., Fortunel, C., Hummel, I., & Garnier, E. (2007). Let the concept of trait be functional! Oikos, 116(5), 882–892. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2007.0030-1299.15559.x
How to cite: Kattge, J., Bönisch, G., Schellenberger Costa, D., Díaz, S., Lavorel, S., Prentice, I. C., Leadley, P., and Wirth, C.: TRY plant trait database – the upcoming version and plans for further development, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-365, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-365, 2026.
Understanding how biodiversity shapes the recovery of ecosystem functioning is central to applying the biodiversity–ecosystem functioning (BEF) framework to forest restoration. A key question is how many tree species are required to restore biomass accumulation and carbon storage while reestablishing natural demographic dynamics in species-rich tropical systems. Here, we analysed an 18-year restoration experiment in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil with tree diversity treatments of 20, 59, and 112 native species planted under identical conditions. We assessed how richness influenced demography and stand-level aboveground biomass, and how functional traits mediated these responses. Aboveground biomass increased over time but peaked at intermediate diversity, suggesting saturation at the highest richness level. Mortality rose sharply after 11 years and was greatest at the highest diversity level, which also showed the lowest growth rates. Treatments also differed in the timing of the knee point—the onset of self-thinning, marking the transition from density-independent to density-dependent mortality—with the 112-species treatment reaching this transition 3 years earlier than the lower-diversity treatments. A trait PCA revealed two main axes: a drought-tolerance trade-off between wood density and turgor loss point, and an SLA gradient. These axes were reflected in demographic patterns, with conservative species exhibiting lower mortality and growth increasing with community-weighted wood density while declining with SLA. Functional diversity was particularly important at the highest diversity level, where greater multi-trait functional dispersion significantly reduced mortality. Our results provide new empirical evidence that increasing species richness enhances biomass accumulation and carbon storage but may reach a functional plateau at high diversity, where higher mortality and lower growth were observed. They also point to the role of functional strategies in shaping demographic performance. This long-term experiment helps clarify biodiversity thresholds for restoring ecosystem functioning in tropical forests and emphasises the importance of trait-based selection in restoration design.
How to cite: Mendes, C., Ribeiro, C., Le Maire, G., Brancalion, P., Campoe, O., and Guillemot, J.: How Many Species Are Enough? Long-Term Tree Diversity Effects on Biomass and Demography in a Restored Tropical Forest, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-212, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-212, 2026.
Biodiversity and ecosystem functions are highly interdependent: systems richer in species often exhibit more intense ecological processes and greater resilience to disturbances. Although a positive relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functions (BEF) has been demonstrated across all major ecosystem types and in both controlled and natural environments, the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood.
In terrestrial ecosystems, BEF research has primarily focused on productivity and its resilience to disturbances, while other key functions—such as mortality, water use, light use efficiency, and soil respiration—have received less attention, and some processes, like soil CH₄ uptake, are still largely unexplored.
To better understand how BEF interconnections vary across pedoclimatic gradients and vegetation compositions, we established the BioFUN Network, sampling more than 230 sites across Italy using a standardized protocol. The implementation of BioFUNet was made possible through the contribution of over 60 participants involved in field sampling and laboratory analyses. While the network is designed to expand and enrich its database over time, the initial campaign targeted forests (175 sites), silvopastoral systems (32), and grasslands (30).
Here we present the results of the core network that focused on the main Italian forest communities, found either as pure or mixed stands: Fagus sylvatica, Quercus ilex, Quercus suber, Quercus pubescens, Picea abies, Abies alba, and Larix decidua. These were surveyed across their full pedoclimatic ranges.
The survey encompassed aboveground tree structure, microhabitats, soil physicochemical properties, root traits, soil gas fluxes (CO₂, CH₄, N₂O), together with environmental DNA (eDNA) analyses from soil and litter samples. eDNA was used to characterize microbial, invertebrate, and vertebrate communities.
The BioFUN design enables the quantification of how tree species mixing influences both ecosystem functioning (soil processes) and the composition of associated biodiversity. All data are stored in BioFUNBase, which also integrates complementary datasets from external sources, allowing the testing of multiple ecological hypotheses. The poster will present the first results of the campaign with a focus on the effects of tree diversity on soil gas fluxes.
How to cite: Mereu, S., Noce, S., Arcidiaco, L., Castaldi, S., Zuzolo, D., Prigioniero, A., Brundu, G., guarino, C., and Spano, D. and the BioFUNet team: Tree diveristy effects on soil processes and associated biodiversity across a pedoclimatic grandient, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-767, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-767, 2026.
Upscaling traits from plant-level measurements to grid-scale predictions is crucial for accounting for biodiversity when simulating and predicting the impacts of climate change and human activities on ecosystems at large scales. However, current trait upscaling frameworks face limitations, particularly the scarcity of trait observations. Based on a dense sampling strategy on the Tibetan Plateau, this study aims to develop a robust upscaling framework that (1) provides reliable trait predictions for this region and (2) enables analysis of how sampling density affects trait prediction.
The Tibetan Plateau, known as the Roof of the World with an average elevation above 4,000 m, supports diverse zonal vegetation, both horizontally and vertically. This significant environmental and vegetation heterogeneity, combined with sparse in situ trait measurements, currently leads to high prediction uncertainty in existing global and Chinese trait maps for this region, limiting their ecological accuracy for spatial scaling on the Tibetan Plateau.
Our approach toward a more robust trait upscaling includes: 1) performing standardized trait measurements on 3,961 species-level leaf samples and 504 site-level fine root samples collected from 650 sites between 2018 and 2024, covering 12 morphological and chemical traits; 2) constructing predictor sets that include bioclimate, soil, topography, and vegetation indices; 3) training machine learning models (such as random forest, boosted regression trees, and generalized additive models), using cross-validation to evaluate performance and select optimal parameters for each trait; 4) refining plant functional type (PFT) based on regional vegetation characteristics and aligning them with a detailed 10 m resolution land cover map of the Tibetan Plateau; 5) predicting traits for each PFT and aggregating them into grid-level values using PFT abundance weighting; and 6) generating a suite of 1 km resolution trait maps. We expect this work to establish a reproducible methodological framework for trait upscaling in heterogeneous landscapes, yielding more reliable trait maps for the Tibetan Plateau and providing further insight into how sampling density influences trait upscaling.
How to cite: Jin, Y., Kattge, J., Carvalhais, N., Li, K., and Ni, J.: Mapping plant traits on the Tibetan Plateau: towards a robust upscaling framework for diverse vegetation landscapes, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-368, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-368, 2026.
Mitigation of the ongoing biodiversity crisis requires thorough understanding of species dynamics across scales. However, monitoring plant species and their functional traits is time-consuming and challenging to implement across larger spatial scales and through time. Spectroscopy is emerging as a promising tool for monitoring plant functional and taxonomic diversity within and between ecosystems. This relies on the presence of a functional and taxonomic signal in leaf optical properties, which in turn depends on the spectral similarity of species, intra- and interspecific trait variation, and the timing of the measurements. In order to address these relations in natural and semi-natural ecosystems in Denmark, we are compiling a spectral library of plants. An important methodological aspect of this work is to assess how leaf degradation, and the phenological stage of the plant, affect leaf optical properties. This was assessed by measuring leaf spectra from 350 – 2500 nm of four plant species, representing different plant functional types, from the same site over five months. We measured leaves at the time of sampling, and repeatedly after detachment from the plant to test how sampling strategy, potential leaf degradation after detachment and phenological stage influence leaf optical properties. Furthermore, we collected spectral and functional trait data of dominant plant species in 100 vegetation plots across the Store Åmose nature area in July and August. We present results of the spectral and functional differences among species and taxonomic levels, and the significance of leaf degradation and phenology on measured spectra. Leaf water and chorophyll content are expected to be the major drivers of spectral variation over time. However, subtle spectral signals may reflect other biochemical traits or leaf biophysical changes during the growing season. These dynamics are expected to depend on plant ecology, functional types, and environmental conditions such as wet and dry habitats. Our results will demonstrate the potential (and challenges) of using spectroscopy for taxonomic and functional identification of plants. We will provide insights into the role of leaf sampling strategy and phenology on spectral signals of plant species, which can inform the planning of future remote sensing and field campaigns.
How to cite: Jakobsen, C. D., Baines, O., Normand, S., and Schneider, F. D.: Investigating plant functional traits, taxonomy and phenology as drivers of leaf spectral variation, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-746, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-746, 2026.
Mitigating the impacts of climate change in cities—where rising temperatures and the intensifying urban heat-island effect (UHI) increasingly threaten public health—has become a critical priority. Varied strategies are needed to alleviate complications due to UHI and climate change, and trees as nature-based solutions are one of the most popular and easiest to implement. Trees help alleviate heat-related problems in urban environments through reducing the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) by 10–13% in large cities (Zölch et al. 2016), and land surface temperature by 8–12°C on average in European cities (Schwaab et al. 2021). However, the identity, diversity and canopy density of trees can influence their cooling effects. It is therefore imperative to choose the correct species to plant in the right geographic locations to best improve the local cooling effects. This study investigated the effectiveness of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV or drone) equipped with a thermal camera to measure the surface temperature of tree crowns in a similar environment. We aimed to identify tree species with consistent temperature differences compared to ambient air temperature (always cooler or always warmer than other species) in different weather conditions. The thermal images were mosaicked, and areas for all surfaces were identified for analysis. We extracted the emissivity-corrected mean temperatures for all trees and subtracted air temperature at the time of the flights from the mean surface temperatures to compare across dates and different weather conditions. Tree species differed with some species having consistently mean crown temperatures warmer than air temperature across all dates and tree species with mean temperature always cooler than air temperature. Surface temperatures of trees were significantly correlated with specific leaf area (SLA), suggesting leaf morphology has an influence over the cooling of the tree crown and a diversity of tree species might lead to enhanced ecosystem services in urban areas.
How to cite: Haverkamp, P. J., Notari, N., Kaindl, C., and Joshi, J.: Identifying the coolest trees on the block: Study on drone-based thermal image analysis of species-specific tree crown temperatures, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-704, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-704, 2026.
Understanding the spatial variability of canopy biochemistry is increasingly important for quantifying forest functional diversity, monitoring ecosystem resilience, and assessing biodiversity change. Canopy phenolics–such as total phenols and tannins–are key biochemical traits linked to plant defences, decomposition processes, and nutrient cycling. Although imaging spectroscopy has recently proven effective for estimating canopy phenolics, the environmental drivers shaping their large-scale variation remain poorly understood. In this study, we used PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa (PRISMA) hyperspectral imagery to map canopy total phenol content across temperate forests in the central Netherlands and southeastern Germany. Specifically, we investigated how climatic, topographic, and edaphic factors shape the spatial distribution of canopy phenolics. First, a nested permutational partial least squares regression (PLSR) was implemented to calibrate PRISMA reflectance (450–2400 nm) against in situ canopy phenol measurements, producing accurate and robust retrievals (R² = 0.64; normalized RMSE = 12.7%). The validated model was then applied to generate phenol maps that successfully captured fine-scale variability across diverse species compositions and forest structures with low prediction uncertainty. Finally, we used random forest modelling and variance partitioning to identify dominant environmental drivers and quantify the explained variation in canopy phenolics. Our results show that regional phenolic variation is primarily driven by edaphic variables, particularly within conifer-dominated forest landscapes. In deciduous and mixed forests, topographic and climatic influences become more pronounced, highlighting species- and context-dependent phenolic–environment relationships. By linking EO-derived phenolics with spatial environmental gradients, this study demonstrates how imaging spectroscopy can move beyond trait mapping toward a more mechanistic understanding of ecosystem functioning. These findings are relevant to understanding European temperate forest responses to climate variability and environmental changes. Canopy phenolics retrieved from space can also serve as scalable indicators of plant defence strategies, ecosystem resilience, and biodiversity–function relationships, supporting sustainable forest management and national reporting under the Kunming–Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework.
How to cite: Xie, R., Darvishzadeh, R., Skidmore, A., and van der Meeer, F.: Environmental controls on canopy phenolics in European temperate forests revealed with spaceborne imaging spectroscopy, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-728, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-728, 2026.
Ericoid mycorrhizal (ERM) fungi are essential mediators of nutrient cycling in heathland ecosystems, helping host plants access organic nutrients in nutrient-poor conditions. Traditionally, these fungi are regarded as mutualists; they also possess saprotrophic capabilities that may become increasingly important under changing environmental conditions. Such climate-driven lifestyle flexibility could reshape soil carbon cycling and feedbacks to the atmosphere. Yet, how these lifestyle shifts reshape ERM and broader fungal community composition, and their consequences for soil carbon dynamics, remain poorly understood.
This study examines the impact of climate change on the decomposer activity and carbon allocation dynamics of ERM fungi using DNA-Stable Isotope Probing (DNA-SIP). Experiments were conducted within climate manipulation mesocosms representing past (2009-2013) and future (2080-2089) climate scenarios. Two complementary DNA-SIP experiments were employed. In the first experiment, mesh bags containing 13C-labeled cellulose or hemicellulose were used to trace the capacity of ERM fungi to decompose plant polymers. Samples were collected at 2 and 7 days post-labeling to capture the early and later stages of substrate utilization. In the second, entire mesocosms were fumigated with 13CO2 for 5 days, and samples were collected 2, 7, and 15 days post-fumigation to quantify carbon transfer from plants to ERM fungi and evaluate shifts in belowground carbon allocation under future climate conditions.
By linking isotopic enrichment in fungal DNA with molecular community profiling, this project aims to identify which ERM taxa actively assimilate carbon from distinct sources under varying climates. We expect that future climate conditions will promote ERM taxa with greater saprotrophic potential and modify the temporal dynamics of carbon flow from plants to mycorrhizal fungi. Such shifts are likely to influence fungal community composition, intensify interactions with saprotrophic decomposers, and accelerate the turnover of soil organic matter.
Understanding these potential lifestyle shifts is crucial for predicting how ERM fungi mediate soil carbon balance and ecosystem resilience in response to ongoing climate change.
How to cite: Claessens, V., Turcu, C., Verdonck, R., Rineau, F., Kohout, P., and Soudzilovskaia, N.: From Symbionts to Decomposers: Climate-Induced Lifestyle Shifts in Ericoid Mycorrhizal Fungi, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-139, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-139, 2026.
Invertebrate herbivores and fungal pathogens strongly influence plant diversity and plant community composition,and they additionally mediate key ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and decomposition. By regulating plant growth, survival, and competitive interactions, these consumer groups help determine ecosystem structure and functioning. However, despite their recognized ecological significance, empirical knowledge about the individual and combined effects of insects, molluscs, and fungal pathogens on plant communities remains limited. In particular, the extent to which these effects vary across broad environmental gradients, and how multiple consumer groups interact to influence plant performance, is still poorly understood.
The aim of the Bug-Network (BugNet) is to address these gaps by experimentally excluding major invertebrate consumer groups and pathogenic fungi in herbaceous-dominated ecosystems worldwide. This coordinated, replicated design enables a direct assessment of the individual and interactive contributions of insects, molluscs, and fungal pathogens to plant growth and damage patterns under contrasting climatic conditions. To quantify these effects, we planted three widely distributed phytometer species—Dactylis glomerata, Taraxacum officinale, and Trifolium pratense—into ten sites participating in the global BugNet consumer-reduction experiment. These sites span a large climatic gradient, with mean temperatures ranging from 5 to 24°C and water balances between –55 and 100 mm. After one growing season, we evaluated consumer impacts by measuring aboveground biomass and estimating herbivore and pathogen damage.
Preliminary results show that insect herbivores exert a consistent and detectable influence on plant performance across all study locations. In contrast, the interactive effects among consumer groups are highly context dependent, varying considerably in magnitude and direction along the climatic gradients encompassed by the network. These findings emphasize that consumer impacts cannot be generalized across environments and that climate acts as a key modulator of plant–consumer interactions. Improved understanding of these context-dependent dynamics enhances our capacity to predict shifts in plant communities and trophic interactions under ongoing global environmental change.
How to cite: Bota, J., Allan, E., and Kempel, A. and the The BugNet Consortium: Plant consumer impact varies across environmental gradients – first results from the Bug-Network , World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-943, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-943, 2026.
Biodiversity is changing globally, with disproportionate losses in freshwater ecosystems. While the impact of biodiversity loss on ecological functions and stability within a single ecosystem is well understood, its influence across ecosystem boundaries remains less clear. Forested streams and their adjacent riparian zones offer a model "meta-ecosystem" to investigate these spill-over effects. Forest stream invertebrates heavily depend on terrestrial leaf litter for energy, and emerging aquatic insects are a crucial food source for riparian consumers like birds, bats, and spiders. To test how donor ecosystem biodiversity might influence recipient ecosystem functioning and create reciprocal feedback loops by facilitating prey diversity, we have begun a field experiment in the North Island of New Zealand manipulating terrestrial litter inputs at the reach-scale in two forested streams with markedly different vegetation. One stream is dominated by pine (Pinus radiata), while the other stream features diverse native forest. Our experiment involves a BACI (Before, After, Control, Impact) design, where terrestrial litter inputs are being manipulated in two 30-m reaches of each stream for one year and compared with before data alongside control reaches. The two litter input treatments involve a labile titter type from a single tree species (monoculture) and a polyculture of litter from three tree species. Our sampling has included benthic and emergent aquatic insects, organic matter processing, and eDNA. Preliminary results show that overall aquatic invertebrate composition is similar between the two stream, but with key differences including significantly diminished diversity of Ephemeroptera in the pine stream. These diversity responses will be complemented with food-web analyses using functional traits, biotracers, and gut-content metabarcoding. By using these innovative techniques in an ecosystem manipulation at the reach scale, we can better understand the importance of biodiversity within a landscape context. Addressing this frontier in ecology will improve our ability to conserve, restore, and manage biodiversity and ecosystems across spatial scales.
How to cite: Burdon, F. J., Brown, J., Marguet, M., Sarkezi, M., Pohe, S., and Barnes, A.: Aquatic-terrestrial linkages and biodiversity spillover in forest streams, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-572, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-572, 2026.
Resource requirements determine species competition and shape community dynamics. Under climate change, changes in resource availability will often coincide with warming; thus, understanding how temperature affects resource requirements is crucial for predicting future ecosystems. Tests of Tilman’s Resource Competition Theory have demonstrated that minimum resource-requirements, or R*s, are good predictors of the outcome of resource competition in phytoplankton. In our study, we collected data from 71 experimental studies on phytoplankton, encompassing 133 species, to investigate whether general rules exist regarding how temperature modulates resource requirements in phytoplankton. For the resources light, nitrogen and phosphorus, we estimated parameters of the Monod curve, which describes how growth rates vary as a function of resource availability: the maximum specific growth rate (µmax), half-saturation constant (Ks), and R*. We fit the Monod curves using Bayesian methods, and tested how these parameters respond to rising temperature. We further compared these parameters across taxonomic groups, and tested how they varywith cell size. All three parameters varied in response to a temperature increase, but the direction of the response to temperature varied between the parameters. The parameters R* and Ks most often followed a U-shaped or negative response to temperature (depending on the resource type), while µmax most often showed a unimodal or positive relationship to temperature. We also describe important taxonomic and size-based differences in Monod parameters. Specifically, across all species µmax varied unimodally, the half-saturation constant increased linearly, and R* showed a U-shaped response to cell size. Our results demonstrate that resource use and requirements are highly temperature-dependent and that considering both drivers together, temperature and resources, is fundamental to explaining phytoplankton dynamics. Our results represent the most comprehensive data compilation of temperature-dependent resource requirements to-date, and such data compilations may enable mechanistic predictions of how plankton communities may respond to climate changein the future.
How to cite: Narwani, A., Weber de Melo, V., Levasseur, S., Reyes, M., Thomas, P., Plum, C., Khaliq, I., Gallego, I., Thomas, M., and Heinrichs, A. L.: Temperature-dependence of resource requirements in phytoplankton. A Meta-Analysis. , World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-828, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-828, 2026.
The declining vegetation cover due to extreme hot weather and man-made disturbances such as human activities and oil spill contamination during military activities has made it of crucial importance to restore and conserve the biodiversity in Kuwait’s terrestrial ecosystems. In recent years, Kuwait has undertaken projects to revegetate natural areas/habitats which were severely degraded. In this study, attempts were made to assess the wildlife population and their diversity in some selected areas of South Kuwait which were contaminated but remediated and also revegetated and compared them with control sites which were devoid of any vegetation. Pitfall trapping, mammal trap line, fixed point technique, visual encounter survey and infra-red camera trapping techniques were used to collect wildlife data for this study. Results indicate that during the winter of 2024, species richness and Shannon’s diversity index was higher in the effluent pit plots compared to the reference (100% positive control) and control plots. However, evenness was highest in the control plots. During summer of the same year, similar results were observed but evenness was highest in the reference plots. During winter, among the wildlife populations observed, 80% of them were insects, 10% mammals, 5% reptiles and 2.5% each of arachnids and birds. During summer, no bird species were observed. Total count of the observed species was significantly higher in remediated sites than the control sites especially the ants and beetles. Cluster and multidimensional scaling (MDS) analysis yielded with a stress value of 0.077 and a clear separation into three distinct clusters (C2, C1 and C1’). Species within the same cluster exhibited higher similarity, indicating their ecological niche performing similar ecological functions and provide closely related ecosystem services. The C2 cluster had in common species with the C1 and C1’ clusters while C1 and C1’ had no species in common between them. Taken together, the results of this study indicates that remediated plots are demonstrating positive incremental changes in supporting the diversity of insects and arachnids but mammal and reptile diversity are yet to flourish in all studied habitats.
How to cite: Almutairi, M., Ali, M., Islam, A., Abdulbaqi, N., Almutairi, S., Jayakumar, S., and Khalil, M.: The impact of remediating oil-contaminated areas on faunal diversity in the State of Kuwait, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-418, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-418, 2026.
